Shutoff arrangement for spring wound alarm clock



y' 1963 BF. CIELASZYK 3,382,664

SHUTOFF ARRANGEMENT FOR SPRING WOUND ALARM CLOCK Filed Oct. 4, 1965 2Sheets-Sheet l llllnil oiull 1 Mar/A (ii/ Jy BY 021% gar/W AUTOF/Vf). I

y 1968 E. F CIELASZYK 3,382,664

SHUTOFF ARRANGEMENT FOR SPRING WOUND ALARM CLOCK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2M/VEIVTOP. [aw a [612 /2 Filed Oct. 4, 1965 United States Patent3,382,664 SHUTGFF ARRANGEMENT FOR SPRlNG WOUND ALARM CLOCK Edward F.Cielaszyk, Oglesby, Ill., assignor to General Time Corporation, NewYork, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 4, 1965, Ser. No.492,525 3 Claims. (Cl. 5821.15)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A spring wound alarm clack including ashutoff arrangement in which slight downward pressure on the housingactuates a blocking lever or toggle which shuts off the alarm and whichhas manual means for overridingly controlling the alarm.

The present invention relates to spring wound alarm clocks and moreparticularly to improved means for manually turning off the alarm afterit has sounded.

It is an object of the present invention to provide improved means forturning oif the alarm in a spring wound alarm clock by the simpleapplication of finger tip pressure to the top of the clock housing. Itis a more detailed object to provide means for shutting off the alarmwhich remains effective to disable the alarm until it is res whichoccurs automatically upon winding the spring.

It is another object of the present invention to provide improved meansfor shutting off the alarm of a spring wound alarm clock by pressing onthe clock housing and which is simple and inexpensive requiring onlyminor modifications in existing design of clock mechanisms and housings.In this connection it is an object to provide an improved shut-off whichis not visible upon casual observation of the clock and which thereforemay be incorporated in clock housings of various artistic designswithout affecting their appearance. Thus it is an object of theinvention to provide an improved shut-off means which may be useduniversally in a line of clocks to take the place of, or supplement, theexisting alarm shut-off arrangement.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a pressureresponsive shutoff for an alarm clock which is easy to operate and whichresponds to slight downward movement regardless of the direction,assuming only that it is generally downward, the force is applied.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent uponreading the attached detailed description and upon reference to thedrawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an alarm clock incorporating thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section taken through the center of the housing ofthe clock in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary section taken along the line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective of the alarm drive train;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary stop-motion view of the alarm drive train;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 but following the triggering of thealarm;

FIG. 7 shows movement of the blocking member into shutoff position;

FIG. 8 shows the resetting of the blocking member upon subsequentlywinding the spring and FIG. 9 is a fragmentary section showing analternate base member construction.

While the invention has been described in connection with a preferredembodiment, it will be understood that I do not intend to be limited tothe particular embodiment shown but, on the contrary, intend to coverthe various alternative and equivalent construction included within thespirit and scope of the appended claims.

Turning now to the drawings there is disclosed an alarm clock having ahousing 10,-the usual hour and minute hands 11, 12 and an alarm set hand13. Projecting out of the back of the clock are a winding key 15, asetting stem 16 and an alarm disabling plunger 17. For the purpose ofdriving the hands of the clock, a timing train 26 is provided includinga main gear 21 which is connected to the inner end of a spring 22. Themain gear meshes with a pinion 23 mounted on a shaft 24 which drives anhour wheel 25 and which, extended forwardly, carries the hour hand 11.The details of the timing train are conventional and need not bediscussed, primarily the balance, escapement and remaining gearsincluding those connecting the hour gear and the shaft which carries theminute hand.

For sounding the alarm, an alarm drive train is provided having a drivengear 30 which is connected at 31 to the outer end of the spring 22 andwhich is rigidly connected to a winding stem 32. The driven gear 30meshes with a pinion 35 mounted on a shaft 36 carrying a star wheel 37at its forward end. Mounted for oscillatory movement adjacent the starwheel is a clapper 40 having a shaft 41 and pawls 42, 43 which arealternately impulsed by the teeth of the star wheel. The upper end ofthe clapper engages the inside surface of a bell 45.

For the purpose of normally blocking the clapper but for releasing itfor vibration at a pre-set time, a clapper release member or trigger isprovided having a bentover end portion 51 which engages a stop 52 on theclap-per, the latter being bent at right angles to the plane of theclapper.

In order to move the trigger axially away from the stop at the pre-settime for which the alarm has been set, a settable index wheel 55 isprovided adjacent the hour wheel 25 and having a drop-off cam 56 whichengages a registering opening 57 formed in the hour wheel. The hourwheel is biased toward the index wheel by means not shown and thetrigger member 50 is made captive to the hour wheel. As a result, whenthe hour wheel, upon passage of time, is rotated around into registerwith the index wheel, the drop-off cam 56 engages the opening 57enabling the hour wheel 25 and the trigger member to move endwise of theshaft 24 to the left as seen in FIG. 4, thereby freeing the stop 52 onthe clapper for sounding of the alarm.

Since a single spring 22 is provided for driving both the main gear 21of the timing train and the driven gear 30 of the alarm drive train,means may be provided, as is conventional, for limiting the amount ofrotation that the driven gear 30 may undergo. Another feature of thepresent construction which will be recognized as conventional is the useof a floating pinion in the alarm drive train as a ratchet for holdingthe wind of the spring and for simultaneously disengaging the star wheelwhen the winding stem is turned. Thus it will be noticed that the rearend of the star wheel shaft 36, which carries the r pinion 35 isfloatingly mounted in a slot 47 and held in the lower end of the slot bya biasing spring 48. Thus when the winding stem 32 is turned in thedirection of the arrow (FIG. 4) the gear 30, which is connected to it,rotates lifting pinion angular'ly outward in the slot 47 against theforce of the spring 48 and into a position in which the pinion clicksidly against the teeth of the gear while the spring 22 is being wound.When the winding key is released the pinion 35 settles into its normalposition at the lower end of the slot Where it acts to block anyretrograde movement of the gear 30.

For the purpose of permanen i.e., overriding, shutoff of the alarm, theclapper is movable endwise with the disabling plunger 17. When theplunger is moved all the way inwardly, the stop 52 is additionallyadvanced in the direction of the end 51 of the trigger so that itremains blocked in spite of the fact that the trigger may be moved end-Wise in the release direction when the hour wheel and index wheel comeinto a condition of register. In the discussion which follows, it willbe assumed that the plunger is pulled out to its alarm on positionthereby conditioning the alarm for ringing when the pre-set time isreached.

In accordance with the present invention, a blocking member is providedwhich is movable into blocking engagement with the alarm drive traintogether with an out wardly biased base member on the clock housing foroperating the blocking member upon applying light downward force on theclock housing. More specifically, in accordance with the invention, theblocking member is in the form of a toggle which is biased out ofengagement with the driven gear in the alarm drive train but which ismovable into engagement with the gear so that the engaged tooth on thegear is crowded to a stop, thus preventing any further rotation of thestar wheel driving the clapper. Turning to the drawings, the blockingmember, generally indicated at 60 has a tip 61 arranged adjacent theperiphery of the driven gear 30. The blocking member .is rocking'lymounted on a pivot 62 and biased into .a retracted position by a spring63 against a stop 64. An arm 65 on the member extends downwardly towardthe supporting surface S.

For the purpose of transmitting movement to the arm 65, a base member 70is provided at the bottom of the clock and biased toward a slightlyextended position by a leaf spring '71. The latter is centered on aplunger 72 which extends through an opening 73 on the underside of thehousing. The degree of extension of the base member 70 is limited, inthe present instance, by stops formed of a pair of screws 75, 76extending through registering openings in the housing and screwed intotapped holes in the base member. To make the base member practicallyinvisible to a casual observer, the base member may be contained withina recess 77 on the underside of the housing. In the present instance,the recess is defined by a skirt 10a which is integral with the housing10.

In accordance with one of the features of the invention, the tip 61 ofthe blocking member, which engages a tooth on the driven gear 30, isarranged slightly upstream from a plane which contains the axes of thegear 30 and the blocking member pivot 62. By the term upstream is meantin the direction of approach of the gear teeth as the gear rotatesincident to the sounding of the alarm. Thus referring to FIG. 5 the tip61 of the blocking member is offset a short distance d from the plane 80which includes the axes of the gear and pivot. Consequently, when theblocking member is moved into engagement with one of the teeth of thegear 30, indicated at 81 in FIG. 7, the torque exerted by the spring 22crowds the tooth against the tip 61 so that the blocking member acts asa toggle. The tip is wedged in place so securely that it remains inblocking position notwithstanding the presence of the biasing or returnspring 63. However, when the winding key 15 is next rotated turning thegear 30 in the opposite, or clockwise, direction as indicated by thearrow in FIG. 8, the toggle connection is released and the blockingmember is wiped out of its engaged position and permitted to return toits fully retracted position by action of the spring 63. As a result themechanism is restored to its initial condition in readiness for a newcycle of opera-tion when the alarm sounds the following morning.

While the operation of the clock and its improved shutoif means will beapparent in view of the above description, it may be helpful tosummarize a full cycle of operation. In putting the clock in readiness,the index wheel 55 and alarm setting hand 13 are rotated to a set timeby the setting stem 16. The clock is wound by turning the winding stem15 which winds the spring 22 accompanied by ratcheting at the star wheelpinion 35. The plunger 17 is pulled out into the alarm on position.

When the set time is reached, resulting in a condition of registerbetween the hour wheel 25 and the index wheel 55, drop oti occurs at thecam 56 resulting in axial movement of the hour wheel and the release oftrigger member 50. This frees the stop 52 on the clapper permitting theclapper to vibrate under the urging of the star wheel 37. This conditionis illustrated in FIG. 6- where the limits of movement of the clapperare shown by the full and dot-dash lines respectively.

To shut off the alarm the user presses down on top of the clock housing,as indicated at P in FIG. 2, which causes the base member to pressrelatively inwardly against the arm 65 on the blocking member 60. Thiscauses the tip 61 of the blocking member to engage the approaching oneof the gear teeth indicated at 81. The applied torque and togglemounting of the blocking member causes the engaged tooth to crowdagainst the blocking member so that it is firmly wedged into seatedposition. This positively blocks the rotation of the driven gear 30, andhence the rotation of the star wheel, so that the alarm is efiectivelyshut off, the return spring 63 being powerless to restore the blockingmember to its retracted position. Thus, upon passage of an additionaltwelve hours, which brings the hour wheel again into register with theindex wheel, there will be no further sounding of the alarm even thoughthe alarm release plunger remains pulled out and in its alarm onposition.

However, the following evening, rewinding of the clock spring isaccompanied by automatic resetting of the blocking member to itsdisengaged position. Referring to FIG. 8, turning the winding key 15clockwise is accompanied by clockwise movement of the gear 30. Thisreverses the torque on the gear, removing the crowding force on theblocking member, and, indeed, the blocking member is wiped free of thegear tooth 81. The return spring 63 thus restores the blocking member tothe disengaged and fully retracted position shown. Continued rotation ofthe gear 30, accompanying winding of the spring 22, produces idleclicking or ratcheting at the star wheel pinion 35 until the spring isfully wound. This restores the clock to a condition of readiness forsounding the following morning. It will be noted that in the entirecycle no reliance is placed upon the shut-ofl? function of the plunger17; the light downward pressure upon the clock housing sufiices to turnoff the alarm, and keep it off, until the mechanism is again conditionedfor operation by rotating the winding key.

While the base member 70, in the above preferred em bodiment, isdirectly coupled to the arm 65 on the blocking member 60, to rotate theblocking member into its blocking position when downward pressure isapplied to the clock, such coupling need not be direct and, if desired,the arrangement shown in FIG. 9 may be used without departing from thepresent invention. In this embodiment the base member, indicated at 70a,and which is outwardly pressed to a slightly extended position by thesprings 71a, does not engage the blocking member directly but, instead,the arm 65a on the blocking member is extended downwardly, throughtheclock housing, into a position adjacent the supporting surface S. Thus,when downward pressure is applied to the top of the clock causing thebase member 70a to move relatively inward, the arm 65a reacts directlyagainst the supporting surface S to rotate the blocking member into itsengaging position. Since the teeth on the gear 30 are relativelyshallow, and since distance multiplication occurs in the blockingmember, only a slight upward rocking movement of the arm 65a suffices toinitiate the engagement between the blocking member and the oncominggear tooth.

It is one of the features of the construction that the base member 70 isfioatingly mounted for either straight or cocking movement. As a result,the applied force need not be applied along any certain direction andmay be applied randomly and casually either by pressing the base member70 straight in or by cocking it in any direction so that the plunger 72has a small upward component of movement. The lateral component in anydirection whatsoever, simply produces slight scufiing movement at thejoint 90 between the members 65, 72. In order to reduce the friction atthe joint, one of the members, here the arm 65, may be smoothly roundedas shown.

It is one of the further features of the present shut-off arrangementthat it may be used with most current spring wound alarm clock movementsand with almost any existing design of alarm clock housing withoutsubstantial modification. This is possible since practically all springwound alarm clocks contain a driven gear equivalent to the gear 30 whichis engaged by the blocking member and which is rotated when the clock iswound. Consequently, it suffices to add a blocking member toggled in thedirection of the approaching gear teeth and having a light returnspring. Similarly, it is a simple matter to provide, in either a newclock or in an existing design, a base member which is biased into aslightly extended position and which may, if desired, be recessed in thelower portion of the clock housing so as to be practically unnoticeable.Coupling the base member and the blocking member will usually present noproblem. Consequently, the invention may be added, at very little cost,to many different designs of spring wound alarm clocks as a useful salesfeature. The operation is particularly advantageous since the randomdownward motion is a natural one for a sleepy person with little risk ofknocking the clock from the night table.

What is claimed is:

1. In a spring wound alarm clock the combination comprising a housing, atiming train, an alarm drive train having a driven gear and star wheel,an escapement type clapper associated with the star wheel, spring motormeans for applying torque to the timing train and alarm drive train andhaving a manual winding stem, said timing train having an hour wheel, anassociated index wheel settable to a desired wake-up time, trigger meansfor normally blocking the clapper but responsive to a condition ofregister between the wheels for releasing the clapper to sound thealarm, a floating pinion operatively connecting said driven gear andstar wheel for holding said spring motor means in a wound condition whensaid clapper is blocked and for disengaging said star wheel from saiddriven gear when said spring motor means is being wound by said windingstem, a blocking lever having a first arm directly movable intoengagement with the teeth of the driven gear and pivoted with respect tothe gear to form a blocking toggle when in engaging position, means forbiasing the blocking lever into a disengaged position, a base memberrecessed in the housing, said base member being mounted for movementrelative to said housing and biased outwardly to a slightly extendedsupporting position at both the front and rear edges thereof, said leverhaving a second arm integral therewith in the path of movement of thebase member between the front and rear edges thereof so that whendownward pressure is applied to the housingthe blocking lever is movedagainst the force of bias into engagement with the driven gear with theresult that the engaged tooth thereof crowds against the blocking memberthus preventing further movement of the driven gear and shutting off thealarm, said winding stem being coupled to the driven gear so that whenthe winding stem is subsequently rotated the blocking lever is releasedfor return to its disengaged position, and means including a shut-oflplunger for overridingly preventing the sounding of the alarm uponoperation of the trigger means when the blocking member is in itsdisengaged position.

2. In a spring wound alarm clock the combination comprising a housing, atiming train, an alarm drive train having a driven gear and star wheel,a clapper coupled to the star wheel, spring motor means for applyingtorque to the timing train and alarm drive train and having a windingstem, said timing train having an hour wheel, an associated index wheelsettable to a desired wake-up time, trigger means for normally blockingthe clapper but responsive to a condition of register between the wheelsfor releasing the clapper to sound the alarm, a floating pinionoperatively connecting said driven gear and star wheel for holding saidspring motor means in a wound condition when said clapper is blocked andfor disengaging said star Wheel from said driven gear when said springmotor means is being wound by said winding stem, means including ablocking member having a first arm directly engageable with the alarmdrive train, a base member recessed in the lower portion of the housing,said base member being mounted for movement relative to said housing andbiased outwardly into a slightly extended position at both the front andrear edges thereof, stop means for defining said extended position soarranged as to permit limited inward movement as well as slight cockingmovement in any direction having an inward component, said member havinga second arm integral therewith for coupling the central portion of thebase member between the front and rear edges thereof to said blockingmember so that when the clock housing is pressed downwardly the inwardcomponent of relative movement of the base member is applied to theblocking member to move the blocking member into engaging position withthe alarm drive train thereby to shut off the alarm, means forretracting the blocking member incident to turning the winding stemthereby placing the blocking member in readiness for subsequent movementinto blocking position following the next sounding of the alarm andmeans including a manually operated plunger for overridingly preventingthe star wheel from vibrating the clapper.

3. In a spring wound alarm clock the combination comprising a housing, atiming train, an alarm drive train having a driven gear and star wheel,a clapper coupled to the star wheel, spring motor means for applyingtorque to the timing train and alarm drive train and having a windingsltem, said timing train having an hour wheel, an associated index wheelsettable to a desired wake-up time, trigger means for normally blockingthe clapper but responsive to a condition of register between the wheelsfor releasing the clapper to sound the alarm, a floating pinionoperatively connecting said driven gear and star wheel for holding saidspring motor means in a wound condition when said clapper is blocked andfor disengaging said star wheel from said driven gear when said springmotor means is being wound by said winding stem, a blocking togglemember rockable about a pivot so that one arm is brought into directblocking engagement with the alarm drive train, a base member recessedin the lower portion of the housing and mounted for movement relative tosaid housing, means for biasing the base member outwardly into aslightly extended position at both the front and rear edges thereofwhile permitting limited inward movement as well as cocking movement inany direction having an inward component, a second arm on the togglemember for coupling the central portion of the base between the frontand rear edges thereof to said toggle member so that when the clockhousing is pressed downwardly the inward component of relative movementfrom the base member is applied to the blocking member 7 8 to move theblocking member into engaging position with FOREIGN PATENTS the alarmdrive train thereby to shut off the alarm and 1018 342 10/1952 Francemanually operated means for overridingly preventing the 12/1961 GreatBritain sounding of the alarm upon operation of the trigger means whenthe toggle member is in its disengaged posi- 5 RICHARD B WILKINSONPrimary Examiner tion.

References Cited STEPHEN J. TOMSKY, Examiner. UNITED STATES PATENTS L.M. LORCH, EDITH c. SIMMONS, 2,360,589 10/1944 Schlenker 58--21.15Assistant Examiners.

2,996,875 8/1961 Graef "58-21

